Syrians flooded into streets, markets and mosques on Friday celebrating the latest overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and attending the primary Friday prayers since his ouster on Sunday.
CBC senior worldwide correspondent Margaret Evans, producer Jason Ho and videographer David Iacolucci spoke with folks in Damascus outdoors the Umayyad Mosque, which was constructed within the early 700s and is the town’s largest, and the close by Al-Hamidiyah market about their hopes and fears for the long run.
Islam Marouf, 38
(Jason Ho/CBC)
Marouf is a journalist from Al Hasakah, within the northeast of the nation.
He mentioned Syria faces many challenges, together with meals and oil shortages, uncertainty over Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who led the insurgent advance that toppled Assad, and concern {that a} unified Syria with its numerous ethnic and spiritual teams could not maintain.
“There may be worry from the long run,” Marouf mentioned. “We have fun a brand new state of affairs in Syria, however all of the folks have worry, particularly the tradespeople.”
He mentioned seeing the rebels launch members of the army with out exacting revenge and cling to a few of the preliminary guarantees made by Golani reassured him, regardless that he is from a area the place Golani’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), will not be well-known.
“Now, we’ve peace right here in Damascus, that is good. There may be [forgiveness]. Till now, all the pieces is sweet.”
Nonetheless, he mentioned, it’ll take quite a bit to keep up that peace and preserve Syria complete.
“The folks need to work arduous to construct Syria.”
Joud, 27
(Jason Ho/CBC)
Joud, who didn’t need to give her final title, studied finance and hopes that in a post-Assad Syria, she’ll be capable of discover work in her discipline, earn a better wage and begin a household. When CBC spoke together with her, she was savouring the easy pleasure of with the ability to transfer freely across the metropolis.
“I am completely satisfied right this moment,” she informed Margaret Evans via a translator. “As I left dwelling right this moment, I can stroll and go wherever I would like…. I am so completely satisfied I can go anyplace. Nobody is monitoring me.”
Joud mentioned she’s not apprehensive {that a} new Islamist authorities would possibly impose restrictions on girls.
“It will not have an effect on me as a lady or anybody else,” she mentioned. “We’re going to stay as we live now, and there will be no guidelines — no further guidelines — on us, I hope.”
Inas al-Hanash, 25
(Jason Ho/CBC)
Hanash was out celebrating together with her children, and like lots of these on the streets of Damascus on Friday, she flashed a hopeful if delicate peace signal as she posed for a photograph whereas different youngsters milled round close by. She mentioned she’s wanting ahead to financial stability and truly having issues in shops to purchase together with her cash.
“The Syrian lira [pound] shall be significantly better, God prepared. Not the identical as earlier than. Even in case you had cash, you could not purchase something.”
Hanash mentioned she additionally hopes a brand new authorities will imply that fundamental companies, comparable to electrical energy, are maintained.
“The financial state of affairs shall be significantly better, and we are going to stay in peace and security,” she mentioned.
Abu Ahmad, 22
(Jason Ho/CBC)
Ahmad mentioned he’s a member of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the insurgent group that led the advance that toppled the Assad regime. Initially from Idlib, Ahmad mentioned he fought with the rebels as they made their approach to Damascus and is now serving to preserve safety within the capital.
“There are lots of people who’re nonetheless supporting the regime, and plenty of thieves within the metropolis,” he mentioned. “We hope that after we do all of this [secure the city], we’ll return dwelling.”
Many inside and out of doors Syria are ready to see what occurs to those that propped up the regime and had an lively hand within the repressive techniques it used to carry on to energy.
Ahmad mentioned holding folks accountable for his or her actions underneath the previous regime is a vital a part of the transition.
“If we let supporters of the regime who’ve blood on their arms go free, we’d betray our martyrs,” he mentioned. “Within the case of somebody within the military who was forcibly conscripted, he can return dwelling and we cannot do something to him. As for folks with blood on their arms, we are going to maintain them accountable.”
Raed al-Saleh, 42
(Jason Ho/CBC)
Saleh heads up the group referred to as the White Helmets, first responders whose mission has modified considerably in latest days from serving to civilians survive the violence and instability of a chronic and lethal civil struggle to rebuilding the nation.
One of many first duties was to assist search Saydnaya, the infamous army jail outdoors Damascus, in search of underground cells and attempting to make sure that each nook of the jail was cleared.
“It was one of the crucial necessary missions for us,” Saleh mentioned. “We had been working very arduous to get all of the prisoners out.”
Now, they will flip to unearthing a few of the mass graves the place victims of the Assad regime had been buried, he mentioned. That may contain accumulating DNA samples in hopes of offering solutions to the family members of the hundreds of people that disappeared over the course of 14 years of civil struggle.
“Now we have greater than 100,000 lacking people who we have no data on proper now,” Saleh mentioned.
Regardless of the grim work forward, Saleh mentioned he is hopeful.
“The previous 14 years, we had been struggling quite a bit. However right this moment … we’re in a brand new section. We’re going to construct a brand new Syria. We’ll carry again all Syrians and ensure it is just one nation, just one neighborhood, and that Syrians are making the choices on this nation.”
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